The Rules of Magic
by DJOneechan
Summary: Alyanne knew about the two cardinal rules to stalkers. Firstly, stalkers are never up to any good. Secondly, if you rendezvous with one, you should run in the opposite direction. No one said anything about the fringe benefits of an adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The crickets and the sound of small critters stirring in the wood filled the air as Alyanne sat and listened. The moon was a hue of pristine white, an unusually clean color in an otherwise very usual part of Elwynn Forest. She had been coming to a small patch of grass every day, ignoring the opinions of her superiors in the Cathedral at Stormwind that she spent more time thinking than was healthy for a young woman. They mostly teased, and Aly was grateful for their loving playfulness.

A small golden-red dragonhawk flew towards her head. Aly lifted up an arm as the creature gracefully landed. "Hello there, Velas. Found anything decent to eat while out and about?"

Chirping disappointedly, the dragonhawk scrambled quickly down her arm and into her pocket in search of something edible. Alyanne raised an eyebrow. "I guess not."

If dragonhawks could frown, Velas would have, for he emerged from her pocket with a pitiful little chirp. "No, you little troublemaker, I don't have anything for you in there," she scolded.

Alyanne fidgeted a while with the corners of a large blue blanket she was sitting on. A lot had happened to her that morning that she wasn't willing to think about. Dwelling on it would mean mental confusion, and the last thing she needed was to wallow in her old self pity. Instead she began to pick at her blanket. She frowned disapprovingly and found a rather stubborn bit of thread. She pulled at it for a little while. Realizing it was stuck, she yanked hard. It suddenly gave way and she fell backwards.

To her absolute surprise, her back hit a pair of legs.

She let out a bit of a yelp, quickly whipped her long brown hair around as she turned, and found herself face to face with a pair of very bright blue eyes as Velas darted towards the top of a tree from the shock. "Oh my goodness!" she yelled and rapidly crawled backwards, crab-like across her blanket. "Who in the name of all things good a-!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I didn't mean to scare you!" the man began apologetically. Ignoring his comment, Alyanne promptly grabbed a nearby stick and lunged towards his head. "Wait! No, wai- I'm sorr- Hey! Do you honestly mean to poke my eye out?" the young man dodged.

Alyanne got to her feet much faster than her appearance would suggest, and swung. "Well what do you think you're doing approaching a young woman at this time of night, then?" she glared.

"Sorry! Please calm down! It's just- I've just been watching you lately!" The man attempted to explain.

Wrong thing to say.

"WHAT?" Aly shouted. At the sound of the commotion, Velas streaked towards the sky and landed in the strange man's hair.

"No! Wait! I'm sorr- OW! Stupid dragonhawk, what is- OW! Let me explain!"

"You sick perverted stalke-"

"You're Aly Evenell, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know my own name. The real question is, what in the world do you think you're doing, huh?"

"I've been sent to protect you; will you put the stick down already? And for goodness sake, get this thing out of my hair!"

This next statement saved him as the stick stopped an inch from his nose. Whistling through the side of her mouth, Aly motioned for Velas to back off. Velas begrudgingly loosed himself from the strange man's hair and perched himself on Aly's shoulder. Aly's glare never seemed to waver, although her voice seemed faltered a bit. "Who are you?" she questioned, backing away slowly in defense.

"Well, are you or are you not?" Blue Eyes raised his eyebrows, unphased by the rather short, angry woman standing before him. "Evenell, right? Alyanna Evenell."

"Alyanne. Not Alyanna. You call me that again and your eye is mine."

"Point being, you're Alyanne Evenell, right? Your parents' names were Jennan and Kalira."

Alyanne back away once again, but this time more in surprise than in response to the instinct to run. It was unusual that someone would bring up her name and not accompany it with a sneer. What was more unusual was that this man seemed to be rather happy to realize he was talking with an Evenell.

As if the currently awkwardness of his facial expression wasn't enough, his physical features themselves were rather odd. She eyed him up and down. He carried no weapons at all, from what Aly could tell, but something about him was still unnerving. It was his eyes that stood out more than anything with their hue of bright, almost glowing blue. Watching as he lowered his hands as a gesture of friendship, she lowered her impromptu sword.

The scowl on her face faded, but she stood up straight. "My name is none of your business, you. Don't you think it's rather impolite to sneak up on a young woman at this time of night anyways?" she brushed the dirt off the dress.

"Well I would say it's your fault for being in the middle of the woods alone at night, especially for a woman of your age and appearance."

Her glare came back instantly in response to his sheer gall. "Do you want me to send this thing after you?" she asked, pointing at Velas. He had called her beautiful, juvenile, and stupid at the same time. Should she be flattered? Insulted? Before she could say a word, he stammered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that sounded awkward, didn't it?"

Confused and rather tempted to laugh just a bit, Alyanne raised an eyebrow. "Sir, what business do you have with me?"

"You're one of the acolytes at the Cathedral in Stormwind, aren't you?" he asked.

"Depends," she simply replied, praying the answer was suitable enough to stop the fellow's knack for asking inappropriate questions at inappropriate times in rather inappropriate situations.

It didn't.

"You're the one who cause all the commotion in the Cathedral Square this morning?" he chuckled. Aly's turned into a shade of crimson as she stared down at her feet. She immediately diverted her face away from Blue Eyes. The memories of a rather embarrassing scene of her leaving filled her brain all of a sudden. Why couldn't this man just leave?

"You have real talent you know, in your magic, I mean," he continued with a chuckle, apparently amused by her utter embarrassment.

"Hmmm..." He placed his hand on his slightly stubbled chin. "I should try and explain this to you, but this is not really the place, my dearest Alyanna." He grabbed her arm and began walking.

"You! Who do you think you are? I'll have your ass for this! And for the second, time, it's Alyanne! Not Alya- where in the world are you taking me, you bastard?" she yelled. She tried to reach for her branch but missed. When Alyanne tried to loosen his grip on her, she found he was much stronger than she expected out of a very tall, deceivingly scrawny man. He smiled, which only irritated her further.

"You know, for someone who supposedly followed the doctrines of the Light, you really are unorthodox. Then again, your parents dabbled in… shall we call it "alternative methods"? Yeah, they did that too. Don't think I haven't seen you practicing in the corner when no one's looking, Aly. I guess it makes you the perfect candidate."

"Are you accusing me of something? Really?" Her eyes widened. She didn't want to say the words out loud, but the idea of him proposing she practiced something so strongly discouraged was like a slap to the face.

"Not yet anyways. To be honest, your parents were amazing at it."

"And how would you know?"

"Who doesn't? Granted their portraits are painted in a far less favorable light within the public of Stormwind, but if only they could see your parents as bearers of great information and not some kinds of lepers. But I'll explain later when we get into the pub. Like I said, you're the perfect candidate."

"Wait, candidate for what? And let go of me, damn it!" Aly struggled. As if terrifying her wasn't enough, now he was accusing her parents? Who in the world was this man?

As he turned his head to face her, glowing blue eyes froze her in place. "It's about time you got both sides of the story, Aly."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The sun had begun to set by the time Blue Eyes hauled Aly involuntarily through Stormwind. Velas had made his home on her shoulder, making sure their new acquaintance didn't try anything inappropriate. Though she had stopped struggling, Aly made sure the scowl on her face stayed.

"You know, your face will freeze that way," Blue Eyes told her. "Trust me; it doesn't suit a lady like you."

"Shut up, don't act like you're innocent, you ogre," Aly retorted.

"Oh, I never said I was innocent. I just said that someone of your nature shouldn't keep your face in that position, especially when they have a face as pretty as yours," he said, smirking.

"You and your insult-compliment combination, you're driving me nuts!" She grumbled in frustration. "I could seriously hurt you, you know. I will make sure I kick you, and trust me, I will make sure it's the most painful experience you've ever had."

"You haven't yet though, and I've certainly given you plenty of opportunity, haven't I?"

"Don't tempt me."

Blue Eyes laughed. Aly couldn't help but admit the man had a point. As nervous as she was, his jovial nature set her usually sound logic off kilter. Anybody else and she would've given them a swift kick in a part of their body guaranteed to make any grown man cry.

She pulled her wrist away from him. "You know, you don't have to hold my arm, I'm not some child."

"Fine, your highness, I shall release your arm," said Blue Eyes, winking childishly at her. "We're nearly here anyways."

Aly had lived in Stormwind nearly her entire life, but she had never ventured to this particular corner of the Mage Quarter. Blue Eyes held the door for her in a sweeping motion as Aly rolled her eyes and stepped through the door.

The scent of alcohol and smoky firewood flooded Aly's senses. From what she could tell, there didn't seem to be anyone there except a figure standing behind the bar. Aly's scowl was nothing compared to the one on the face of the man standing before her, his mouth set at a permanent, disapproving frown.

Blue Eyes greeted him warmly. "Jarel! How has business been lately?"

"Same as usual, you ridiculous folks brewing all sorts of trouble for me," said Jarel. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Aly, then Velas. "Who's the lass… and that… creature?"

"Ah!" Blue Eyes seemed to welcome the idea of showing off Aly. "Let me introduce you to our newest apprentice and her overprotective companion." He motioned for Aly to come forward.

As Aly walked towards Jarel, she cast her eyes downwards towards the dusty floor. Jarel placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head up.

Nervous? Scared? No… it wasn't any of that. It was as if he was evaluating her, and it was making her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Even Velas stayed completely still as his eyes inspected the two of them.

Just as she felt ready to bolt for the door, Jarel finally spoke. "Well, looks like she's got potential. Scrawny, though, she needs to be fed."

"Sounds about right," said Blue Eyes. "Any clue where Miren is?"

"She should be down in the basement where you folks usually are," grunted Jarel.

"Wonderful! Has she made anything delicious to eat?"

"You can go find that out yourself." Jarel motioned towards a door in the back of the building.

"Sounds like fun!" He turned towards Aly. "With any luck, Miren will have made her famous potato soup."

Until then, Aly hadn't realized the rumbling noises coming from her stomach. Following Blue Eyes, she walked downstairs into the dingy basement. From what she could tell, there was nothing but silence behind the door, but when it opened, she could hear a sudden clamor of laugher and good cheer. A woman's shrill voice cut through the crowd.

"Eisen! My boy, you're finally back!" Excitingly, she motioned for Blue Eyes towards her. The idea that Blue Eyes had a real name baffled her a bit, but before she could ponder on the thought, the woman rushed over and embraced both Aly and "Eisen" in a sweeping hug.

"Oh my goodness, look at her! And the pretty red creature, aren't you a beauty?" she said, peering at the dragonhawk. Velas, who was a glutton for attention, made a series of approving clicks and whistles. The woman then turned her attention back to Aly.

"And look at her! A pretty one, isn't she? But she looks absolutely famished… child, are you hungry? Let's get you some soup. Or would you rather have something more filling? We do have some red meat left in the back that you look like you need. What about a drink? Would you like some water? Anything you want, sweetie, we have it right here. And we'll bring your charming little friend some food as well. What does he like to eat? He is a he, correct? We can certainly find something in the pantry."

The flurry of attention in combination with the smells and sounds made Aly dizzy. "Um… well… Velas likes fruit… and I guess I could take the soup…"

"Brilliant! I'll have some potato soup out for you in just a second, sweetheart, and I believe we have some cherries for your little friend," she said and turned swiftly towards what was supposedly the kitchen. Velas flew towards the woman and gracefully landed on her shoulder, making all sorts of noise that the woman thankfully took as compliments. She didn't seem to mind that Velas decided to accompany her and turned to her kitchen.

"Miren, would you mind getting me some soup as well?" asked Eisen. "Your cooking would delightful right now. Actually, maybe you could bring out two of your sweet brew for us?"

"Of course, dear," said Miren, and within moments she was back with two bowls of hot soup on a tray and two cold drinks. Velas had already dived headfirst into a bowl of cherries.

Looking at Aly, Miren asked, "Sweetheart, you're of age, right?"

Aly raised her eyebrows. "Of age? For what?"

"To drink, of course." Smiling, Miren set the table for Aly and Eisen. "Ah well, you look old enough, and it's not like anything horrible will happen to you under this one's watchful eye." She motioned towards Eisen.

Suppressing a very un-lady-like snort, Aly thanked Miren and began blowing at her soup.

"You know," Miren scratched Velas under the chin, "it'd be best if we gave them some privacy to talk. I have an entire bag of cherries for you in the kitchen, granted you keep yourself well behaved and not step on any toes."

"You know, he doesn't take orders we—" To Aly's surprise, Velas willingly followed Miren back to the kitchen.

Aly took a sip of the soup and realized just why Eisen had asked for it earlier.

"Light bless," muttered Aly. "This is unbelievably good!"

Eisen grinned. "If there's one thing you'll learn quickly, it's that Miren's cooking is top notch. She's pretty, charming, and gentle-natured to boot. It's a blessing she's that way too, it balances out her husband."

"Who's her husband?"

"You should know; you've already met the fellow."

If her soup wasn't so delicious, she would've spat it out in surprise. "That grumpy man upstairs is her husband?"

"Yep! Jarel and Miren have been married for quite a while; apparently she's the only person who can bring out his 'beautiful' side."

"… and that's possible?"

"You know, you've got quite a snarky sense of humor. One would say that's unbecoming of a lady," Eisen teased.

Aly raised an eyebrow. "Don't make me follow up on my threats from earlier."

Sighing, Eisen rolled his eyes comically. "Fine, I guess I can behave myself for a bit. By the way," he motioned towards the drink, "drink that stuff slowly. Miren probably diluted yours a bit, but I'd still be careful. It will knock you out quicker than you can say 'Light bless' three times."

Aly took a sip of the cool liquid. Just as she had been impressed with Miren's cooking, she could feel happy goose bumps run across her limbs. Making a mental note to herself, Aly vowed she would never eat anywhere else again. With food this good, who would want to?

After a while, Eisen finally spoke again. "Well, now that I've gotten you fed and feeling good, I feel I owe you an explanation, or at least my name; I'm especially sorry about scaring you like that."

"At this point, I think the food and drink is apology enough," said Aly impatiently. "What I'm more irritated about is why in the world you've jumped on this topic of my family. It's odd enough you bring them up in conversation, much less call them 'brilliant.'"

"Well in all honesty, they taught me more in the two weeks I knew them than any teacher I've had over the course of my entire life. They showed me how to work magic in ways no one else could imagine! The things they could do, the power they wielded- you should be proud to call yourself their daughter."

"Say any of that outside this pub and you'd be tried for treason, you do realize?"

"That's why we're here." Eisen put on another smile for Aly. "Your parents never were ones to follow doctrine."

Aly began taking sips of her drink again. Awkwardness seemed to be Eisen's specialty and the buzz it gave her seemed to cut down the obnoxious amount of positivity coming out of his mouth.

"Contrary to popular belief, your parents never abandoned the Light," he said. "They just modified their priorities towards the end of the war."

"Priorities? I thought shifting towards shadow magic was an indication of selfish aims."

"Not selfish. Like I said, they just changed their priorities."

Feeling herself become more irate, she took a giant swig of her beverage. "And what priorities involve them turning to shadow magic?"

"Easy there, my friend," he motioned for her to put the drink down. "It's not as if they forgot the Light, I can promise you that much."

"What proof do you have of that?"

"If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be sitting here sharing the world's most delicious potato soup and sweet brew here with their lovely daughter."

"You mean to tell me that my parents saved your life after abandoning the Light?"

"I wish you would stop smearing shadow magic. The only difference between shadow and holy magic is the intent of the user."

She took another drink. "So you're basically telling me shadow magic isn't necessarily evil, right?" The alcohol in the sweet brew was clearly affecting her petite body as she giggled and placed her glass on the table. Her parents saved this pompous man? Her father wouldn't have been able to stand being around him for more than one second. If anything, her father would have tossed the man in a closet, locked it, put away the key, and only opened the door on occasion to toss in some bland, stale food. Aly started to laugh even harder at the idea of her father meeting Eisen. She felt herself rock back and forth in her chair.

As tempting as it was, Eisen decided laughing at Aly would destroy his point.

"If you want to word it that way, sure. The Light caused some problems for your parents not because they were horrible people," he explained. "It was mostly because their priorities didn't line up. Your parents didn't mind getting their hands a little messy. The war clearly was sitting at a stalemate, what with the human realms abiding only by 'magic meant for good.' It's not as if they didn't do horrible things in the name of the Light either."

Aly drank again. By now her glass was almost half gone, and she began eyeing Eisen's glass greedily. This stuff was good. No, it wasn't just good, it was great!

Eisen raised his eyebrow. "Like I said earlier, you shouldn't drink that stuff so quickly; you'll be knocked out cold!"

"I don't care right now."

"I'm taking that drink away from you."

"I dare you."

"Okay."

Eisen reached over to the other side of the table and grabbed at the glass of almost half finished sweet brew. Aly lunged. Eisen wasn't expecting her to be so fast, especially at her stage of inebriation, and found himself snatching at thin air. His jaw dropped as Aly chugged the rest of her beverage at an alarming pace.

"What in Light's name is wrong with you?" asked Eisen, unsure of whether to be amused or worried.

"I'm not sure," giggled Aly. "I mean, I understand that what you're telling me is supposed to be serious and all, but this drink! It's amazing; it's making me feel so darn happy! I could spin in circles right now."

"No, no, no, you are not going to do that, especially if you want to keep the contents of your stomach where they belong." Eisen was clearly getting nervous at the thought of a vomiting Alyanne.

Aly couldn't stop giggling. The conversation had gone on long enough that most of the other people in the bar had filed out. The handful of those who were left had either fallen asleep in their seats or were too dazed to be pay attention to the alarmingly hyper girl and a worried grown man.

"You know, after this, you are no longer to insult my lack of maturity," Eisen half-joked. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a serious conversation with a drunk girl?"

"I don't know if I'm drunk, actually," Aly said. "I've actually never been drunk before."

Holding his face in his hand, Eisen groaned, "No wonder. Well that makes sense. Let's just get you to bed and finish this conversation in the morning, okay?"

Aly stood up. "Bed? Bed is not an option right now. I have questions for you mister. Questions that demand answers, answers right now!" She rocked back and forth on one foot.

Aly paused. There were so many feelings welling up in her stomach! Feelings she couldn't quite explain- something sick, twisted feeling from the pit of her insides. Rage? Confusion? Glee? Whatever it was, she felt the sensation begin to take over.

It didn't take much for Eisen to realize Aly's face was changing color as he leapt from his chair, scooped her up, and half-carried her to the closest bathroom available.


End file.
